PITTSBURGH – When Chase Utley was on the disabled list for more than a month with a strained oblique, Charlie Manuel had Ryan Howard and his sore knee in the starting lineup for 25 of the 28 games, and the ailing first baseman pinch-hit in two of the three games he didn’t start.

It wasn’t that Manuel wanted to have Howard start 90 percent of the games when his knee wasn’t close to 90 percent health. It was that the manager figured the best shot the Phillies had to salvage their 2013 was with Howard’s presence while another left-handed bat was missing from the heart of the order.

Since Utley’s return, Manuel has been more amenable to giving the laboring big guy time off – even if Howard wants to keep grinding through the pain.

For the fourth time in the last nine games, Howard was out of the starting lineup Wednesday night as the Phils took on the Pirates at PNC Park. Manuel has been steering Howard away from left-handed starting pitchers like Jeff Locke and attempting to maximize he can do with his bad wheel by sending him out there against right-handers.

It doesn’t mean Howard likes the setup.

“I don’t know,” he said before the game. “I just saw Charlie in the hallway and he said I was out today, so I don’t know. I really haven’t been able to give it much time to process.

“It was a little sore (Tuesday) night, but when I show up and the lineup is made up, then that’s what Charlie feels like he’s got to go with that day.”

Howard broke a 0-for-22 slump Tuesday with an RBI double and an infield single, and went from first to home on a Delmon Young RBI double. He showed obvious signs of labor after the hard base-running on those plays.

“I just thought I’d let him rest (Wednesday),” Manuel said. “He gets a break and he’ll start playing him when we get back home. We’ll start playing him against some lefties. When Ryan’s knee is bothering him and a lefty is pitching, I think that’s a good time to give him a blow. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing. When he gets going good, we’ll put him back in there.

“I can look at him and tell it’s bothering him by the way he walks. That (going from first to home) is a hard run for him and his knee is worse some days than others. He’ll be in there (today) in the day game and he’ll be in there for the home games.”

It will be interesting to see both what the Phillies’ play and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.’s decision whether to be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline means for Howard’s status. There could be surgery at some point on his left knee, although he would rather it wait until the fall, since that would mean the Phils are making a playoff push.

Still, Howard is realistic about the situation. He’s playing in pain, oftentimes a great deal of it.

“It hurts every day,” he said. “It’s a process. When I wake up, I’ve got to get moving around a little bit to get it loosened up. It’s always going to be a little stiff or a little sore. A lot of it comes from the pounding and the running. That’s where I feel it the most. That’s usually where it comes into play.”

NOTESThe Phillies conclude their road trip today (1:35 p.m.) when Cole Hamels (2-11, 4.58) goes against Pirates blue-chip prospect Gerrit Cole (4-0, 3.70) … Manuel didn’t have much to say about closer Jonathan Papelbon’s rather logical argument during a radio interview that Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig might not be worthy of an All-Star roster berth since he’s only played one-third of the games in the first half of the season. “ There are always guys who should be in the All-Star Game that end up getting left out,” Manuel said. “Puig’s got 100 at-bats – I’m not saying whether he should be there or not. Those 100 at-bats, have been awfully good. I’ll let someone else make those decisions.”